How Hominins Predating Humankind Doomed the Crusaders at the Battle of Hattin
Prehistoric Israel was thronged with hominins who made stone tools and left behind heaps of knapping waste. Enter the Romans and then Saladin
Archaeology
Were There Neanderthals in Denmark? If So, They Could Sail or Swim
No evidence of early hominin occupation has been found in Denmark, but stones from a layer dating to about 120,000 years ago do resemble stone tools, say Danish archaeologists
Now on Display at the Jerusalem Museum for Islamic Art: Selloff
Financially strained, the L.A. Mayer Museum is auctioning off dozens of rare items, despite harsh criticism: 'They’re going for the easy way out'
Jerusalem's Museum of Islamic Art to Auction 268 Precious Items, Despite Outcry
Five percent of the Jerusalem museum's collection will be auctioned at Sotheby's London, including rare Breguet watches
Medieval Black Death May Have Sped Up Because of Droplets in the Air
The acceleration of bubonic plague infection in London over 300 years, to the 17th century, may indicate that the source of infection shifted from rats to ourselves
Analysis Gal Gadot as Cleopatra Makes Archaeological Sense
DNA analysis has shown that the closest relatives of ancient Egyptians are today’s Levantines, so Israeli Gal Gadot as Cleopatra is a pretty good match
Prehistoric Scandinavian Hunter-gatherer Culture Wasn't One. It Was Two
Maglemose culture of prehistoric Denmark and southern Sweden wasn’t a continuum, but consisted of different peoples with different technologies, archaeologists suggest
First Temple Period Weight Found Next to Western Wall in Jerusalem
The inscribed two-shekel weight was likely used more than 2,600 years ago in a market at the foot of the Temple where pilgrims bought animals for sacrifices and other goods
Early Humans in Today’s Israel Used Ash as Their ‘Freezer’
Archaeological analysis of 300,000-year-old stone tools from Qesem Cave shows hominins treated food and animal hides with wood ash from their fires in order to preserve them for a rainy day
Are These Nails From Jesus’ Crucifixion? New Evidence Emerges, but Experts Are Unconvinced
Study of two 2000-year-old nails found in Jerusalem revives claim linking them to the burial of Caiaphas, the Jewish high priest involved in Jesus’ crucifixion
Did God Destroy the Walls of Jericho? A Brief History of Bible Literalism
Why did Joshua’s conquest of Ai only succeed the second time around? Did parents really name their son ‘horned viper’? Why some people believe scriptural stories as they were written
‘Galilean Man’ Invented Pyrotechnology Over 300,000 Years Ago, Team Suggests
Early modern humans living in Qesem Cave 420,000 to 200,000 years ago heated flints by the fire before shaping them into specific tools, Israeli researchers conclude
What May Be World’s First Furnace From 6,500 Years Ago Found in Israel
Ore for the large-scale copper production in Be’er Sheva Valley came from Jordan, likely attesting to trade – and jealously guarded manufacturing secrets
Kibbutz Rescues Second Temple-period Mikveh From Builders
During groundworks to build an intersection a rare Galilean ritual bath was found, sawed out of the bedrock and moved in an extraordinary collaboration
Archaeologists May Have Deduced Exactly How Big a Biblical ‘Handbreadth’ Is
Based on over 300 biblical-era pottery jars with a surprising thing in common and U.S. Army orders for gloves, Israeli archaeologists solve ancient mystery
Humans Reached Portugal 5,000 Years Earlier Than Thought
We may have overlapped with Neanderthals for thousands of years in the coastal caves of Western Europe, though that isn’t where our Neanderthal genes came from
How Uncovering the Truth About Jesus’ Wife Led to This German Pornographer
A respected Harvard professor was convinced of the authenticity of an ancient papyrus fragment in which Jesus seemingly asked his wife to spread the gospel. But then American journalist Ariel Sabar embarked on a dogged journey to uncover the truth
New Graphic Novel Digs Deep Into the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
An award-winning artist has rival Israeli and Palestinian diggers searching for the Ark of the Covenant under the West Bank separation barrier in her latest comic book
Footprints Show Humans Reached Saudi Arabia Almost 120,000 Years Ago – or Did They?
The fossil evidence doesn't show any other Homo species around at the time but there's very little of that fossil evidence and Neanderthals were in Israel then
Archaic Humans May Have Cooked 1.7 Million Years Ago – in Hot Springs
More than a million years before we discovered ‘fire,’ meat-eating archaic humans living in Olduvai Gorge were in proximity of hot springs and may have discovered the wonders of boiling their prey
The Metamorphosis of the Sun God in Ancient Synagogues in Israel
What are the zodiac and other images doing in those bastions of monotheism? The answer lies in a Judaism we don’t know anymore
The Mud Whisperers Israeli Archaeologists Invent Disgusting but Effective New Way to Date Ancient Ruins
The method has a substantial ick factor, but human and animal waste incorporated in mud bricks over centuries can reliably indicate the age of structures, archaeologists say
Ever Tried 2,000-year-old Dates? Now You Can, Thanks to These Israeli Researchers
Researchers celebrate – and sample – the first fruit of palm trees germinated from ancient seeds from the Judean desert
Canaanite Palace Built 3,700 Years Ago Over a Fault Was Destroyed by Quake
Archaeological evidence of ancient earthquakes is shaky but here a ‘trench’ running though the palace at Tel Kabri turned out to be ground zero
Now the Israeli Village Excavating Itself Found a Byzantine Church
After discovering a Crusader winery beneath their homes, residents of the Galilean town of Mi’ilya have now found mosaics and ruins of a Byzantine church, maybe even a monastery – whose stones the Crusaders raided centuries later to build a castle
CSI Expert Helps Israeli Archaeologists Nail Writers of 2,600-year-old Letters
Forensic analysis of texts found at Tel Arad shows at least 12 different authors, giving clues about literacy in ancient Judah and when the oldest books in the Bible were first written
Ruins From First Temple-period Palace Found in Southern Jerusalem
The palace was likely built in the early seventh century B.C.E. in King Hezekiah's time, after Jerusalem had survived a siege by the Assyrians – capitals uncovered show palm tree motif typical of Kingdom of Judah
Israeli Gas Giant Found Ancient Shipwrecks. Israel Covered It Up
Dispute ensues over access to Noble Energy's Bronze Age findings beneath Mediterranean in 2016, with researchers claiming they could reveal untold trade histories
‘Face of Yahweh’ Claim Sets Off Archaeological Brouhaha
Israeli archaeologist says he found 3,000-year-old clay head depicting the biblical God of Israel. Colleagues respond the image doesn’t represent Yahweh, a deity and maybe not even a man
Ancient Graves Discovered Outside Jerusalem Spark Battle Over Roadworks
Ultra-Orthodox activists protest removal of skeletons, dismantling of 1,900-year-old graves – despite the fact they're probably not Jewish
Archaeologists Find Assyrian Siege Ramp at Biblical City of Azekah
How did Sennacherib’s forces breach the Judahite defenses at Azekah in 701 B.C.E? It seems they repurposed the remains of a 1,000-year-old city wall, fashioning it into an attack ramp
Cache of Pure Gold Coins From Islamic Period Found in Central Israel
The 24-carat gold weighs 845 grams in total, enough to buy a luxurious house in the capital of Egypt during the Abbasid Caliphate
Canaanite Fort From Judges Epoch Found in Southern Israel
Stronghold on the border between Gath and Lachish could have been erected with Egyptians left to fend off the Philistines – and maybe even the early Israelites too, archaeologists suggest
Where Is Biblical Bethsaida, Where Jesus Walked on Water? The Case of This Jordan River Mound
The location of the ancient town of Bethsaida has been lost in the fog of time. Prof. Rami Arav proposes a leading candidate for the place where, according to the New Testament, Jesus performed miracles
Early Human Bedding More Than 200,000 Years Old Found in South Africa
Layered ash and grasses from 227,000 years to 35,000 years ago in Border Cave is reminiscent of potential early bed discovery in Israel’s Misliya Cave from 185,000 years ago